It turns out these powers are actually surprisingly useful for manufacturing. Last night I managed to complete a tool for use, a 'staff'. The internals are made up of several disassembled and modified tasers, the top is set with a resin orb, clear enough to look like glass. The orb has a couple of LED's and a lens underneath to give a teal glow to the orb when I turn it on. There are four 'claws' that hold the orb in place, on the outside of those are well insulated probes disguised as part of the design. there is also a small coil and magnet setup to function as a generator to charge the batteries but has no normal way to turn. It will let me spend excess mana to recharge the staff between fights. The main use, however, is using some mana to generate an incredibly small channel between two of the probes and a target with lasers. Ionizing a chunk of air is very difficult, but just enough to create a path for the current isn't terrible. This essentially gives me a blasting rod.
I was pretty happy with the design, though the generator wasn't very efficient, but I'm no tinker, just have to make do. I also sewed together some leather after finding a design online for a shoulder strapped hip satchel. It was designed to be sturdy and look more 'old timey' so it would fit with the current theme. I know I'll get complaints on PHO for changing costume again, but it doesn't really matter. I added a belt loop to it so I could hold it from swinging around during flight. I added rope, zip ties, a small bag of marbles, made a couple of extra 'talismans' and decorated them a little more than the ones Impact and Taylor had.
After that I had gone to sleep to train. The first thing I did was modify my shield spells a little so they were personal shields instead of a sphere. Getting them to align with the body was a little difficult but not as hard as I had thought - though that's only because I was able to use infusion with it. This style won't be able to apply to the talismans. The rest of my dream training was spent working with the laser shield.
Since I wasn't fighting I had Shard help me out by working out how to do the reverse of my 'heat' impression. It's a lot harder since you can't randomly vibrate the molecules, you have to actively counter their direction and I only now am getting to the point I can sense a low enough level to create a spell to do it. She didn't get -far- but I was able to learn from some of the insights she came up with, though trying to was a challenge. She apparently imagines molecules to be very energetic flying rabbits.
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I rub my eyes as I try to will myself out of bed. It's comfortable here... I shrug off the feeling of trying to get a bit more rest and roll out of bed. "Well, at least I didn't have to deal with robots last night." I stretch eliciting some popping bones. then go about getting ready for my day and planning what I need.
"I'm practically outed as a cape. What does that mean to me?" I consider for a few moments. "Well, first of all it means I don't have to hold back from flying to school or doing whatever I want in public view." I continue to consider possible effects. "alright, next, that means I could be a target of legal action due to my team's actions. Such as breaking legs." I shrug, "Eh, I'll have to talk to someone at the PRT and see if there's any regulations that protect me from that... Okay, what else? I guess it paints a target on me as 'Will'. Though that target has -been- there since the leak from the PRT. I'm not really worried about most parahumans, dad's a hell of a shot and mom's... well she's mom. And Shard is always with me. I guess that means Taylor could have problems but she can see everywhere at once. So I guess that just leaves me worried about sneak attacks and masters." I cross my arms "Well, sneak attacks we can't really do anything about. Masters?..." I shudder at the thought of Taylor with the focus of 'humans' instead of 'bugs', then I think over my Astral Shield... "Yeah, we could manage something, and it would tie into magic training which I needed to try anyway."
Well, I had a plan. Since magic is probably impossible right now, but magic could be similar to Ki, then it's possible we could learn how to make use of it as an internal force rather than external like I do. And again, if it's not like standard capes I'm willing to bet it'll grow into 'magic' on its own. The first aim is an astral defense of some sort.
I groan, "Oh no... I'm going to have to practice -with- them..." Images of my mother attempting to yank my shoulder out of the socket with super strength came to mind.
Daily hygiene taken care of; I summon Shard and start cooking breakfast with her so I can break the news to my parents as soon as they wake up without mom getting distracted. I almost burn some eggs when a sudden thought struck me.
I steal a glance over to Shard. She isn't self-sufficient because she can't regenerate mana. We have a way of converting natural mana into personal mana with that internal system and breathing. Breathing brings air in and filters the appropriate components out of the air and into our bodies, including the natural mana which is then taken into a sort of reservoir and filtered through... whatever this internal system is which converts it to personal mana. If I can study how that works I might be able to make a mana regeneration system for Shard. I doubt -I- could use it because it's reliant on the mana infusing the air entering the body, but Shard isn't as limited by a normal body and even if it's inefficient, she just needs enough to be slightly more than she loses by existing.
I nod to myself, "Yeah, I'll have to study that. I'm sure mom and dad would help. But first thing's first. We need to see if they can use mana internally." I roll my eyes to myself "god... just -another- thing for the list."
I sat at the table and start focusing internally trying to watch the mana and seeing if there's a way to push it around that make any changes. I've heard of hundreds of stories, people able to walk on nails by focusing their spirit to protect them, able to deliver a strike that sends a shockwave through the body hitting somewhere inside while leaving the surface undamaged, strikes to particular points that can screw up nerves completely disabling someone with a single finger strike, sudden bursts of strength and speed, enhanced senses, the list just goes on and on. So now, what works and what doesn't?
My parents found me downstairs with breakfast only semi-warm, but we have a microwave. I had my notebook out opened to a new section and was writing a list of notes. My mother decided to be nosey and hummed thoughtfully at the list. She seated herself by dad as they ate with Shard pestering them the whole time. Mom made a comment to dad who rolled his eyes muttering "I'd prefer a good gun any day."
Mom raised an eyebrow to that "You know how escalation works, you bring out a gun and someone decides you're better off not being a threat." then she shrugs scooping a piece of egg "Besides, if half that stuff works you might be able to throw a rock hard enough to practically -be- a bullet, I mean, Will can throw a -person- that fast after all." and she gives me a wink.
I slide the notebook over to them saying, "Alright, we're going to be training."
Mom blinks and says sarcastically "No! really!? I just thought you were being -boring- again." while dad started reading over the notes, his eyes getting bigger as he went down the list.
I give her a flat look, "Yes really, now write other things that could be possible with internal infusion." and I toss the pen over to mom who is smiling evilly.
She says "You know this means you have to train with us right? We can go to Kelly's dojo, she's still got it open and I'm sure she'd -kill- to be able to witness something like this. Besides, you need to re-learn your basics."
I groan, "Yes, I know... just don't beat me up too badly, I plan on doing at least a -small- patrol today."
Mom smiles brightly and looks to dad "Hey, you wanted to watch that boring football game right? How about I spend time with our kids while you enjoy big sweaty men grunting and slamming themselves against each other?"
Dad chokes and winces "It' not that bad!"
Mom raises an eyebrow, "Honey, they touch each other's butts to tell them they did well."
I make a point to get in on the teasing "She -does- have a point, they chase a ball and hug each other until someone drops it."... shouldn't have said that. A game of hugging got Shard's attention.
Mom tells her "Watching other people hug isn't as good as getting your own. Let your father have his fun and we'll go get our own hugs."
Having settled that, Shard melded with dad since she'd be going with mom this afternoon. I spent the rest of the morning working out how mana interacted with physical bodies. The biggest problem was I wasn't sure how it would work with normal people. For example, I figured out a way to temporarily increase the hardness of my skin with mana by solidifying the mana infusing it, but is that because I can manipulate mana or would normal people with enough mana be capable of it? Well, the best test subjects would be mom and dad. I hadn't noticed any growth in their aura in the last two days, but that didn't mean it wasn't happening, it was bound to be a slow process.
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After they all got back from church service I was still somewhat stuck on any way of automatically stopping astral effects, but maybe I could get them to sense the odd feel of foreign aura trying to invade. I mean, I basically had that before all this started, it should be the most basic skill... I think.
We've gone out to the back yard, we have a privacy fence so I'm not -too- worried about being seen, but the neighbors may think we're crazy depending on what they hear.
I bring out my notes for them to follow along on some of my theories, dad nodded at my suggestions, his words were 'survive first, then worry about stopping the enemy.' I started using my emotional influence to try to corrupt their aura with [calm]. During the tests I managed to figure a way to 'pulse' the emotion letting off a wave of it a short distance out. It wasn't enough to cause much effect, but constant pulsing would increase the effective range and would gradually work if I kept it up.
Dad had the help of Shard to identify the feeling of the astral attack and started grasping it quickly after that, though mom was upset because we weren't learning how to jump across rooftops and shoot ki blasts and whatnot. Dad -is- the more practical one. Once dad had gotten it I took Shard and let him go inside to watch his football game. He still had no Astral defense, but with Shard's assistance he had learned how to sense an astral attack which was a start.
I transferred Shard over to mom after that and we kept practicing until around five, I'm pretty sure I saw her aura fluctuating a little meaning I'm fairly certain mom was toying with infusing her body instead of detecting Astral attacks, so I gave mom/Shard a glare after a fairly intense pulse. "Hey, you're supposed to be learning how to block Astral attacks, guys."
Mom just sighs and flops backwards on the grass "But it's so boooring. I want to learn how to punch a tree so hard it explodes."
I roll my eyes and point out, "Mom, you -know- this is important. Besides this is your fault."
She lets out a deep breath and goes semi-serious for a minute, "Will, we're your parents. You don't have to try to protect us, we can protect ourselves well enough. Yes, parahumans are scary, but most of them are just people - not some indestructible force of nature like Alexandria. I know this is about the influence of masters and I understand your fear of them, it -is- a scary thought but it's not something we're going to be dealing with anytime soon. Nor will we figure out how to deal with it today, or maybe even this week. Even if we -do- figure it out, what's to say it's always going to work?"
She rolls onto her side and looks at me fully serious. "Will it -truly- make you feel better if we develop a personal astral defense, or are you just making yourself busy so you feel useful?"
I nod, "I want to be sure that if you spend two seconds with a random stranger you won't suddenly be a hostage. You haven't seen what Arachne can do. She doesn't even think about it. She walks by and any hapless bug that comes in range is now a suicide bomber for her personal use."
Mom glares at me for a few moments then lets out a deep breath and I can practically see the emotion and humor drain out of her. She sits up in a lotus position and closes her eyes. "Shard. I want you to hang back but watch. Don't be afraid. Will, when I tell you to, hit me with everything you have. Understood?"
I raise an eyebrow "Um, okay..."
She concentrates for several minutes, during which her entire aura is pulsing in different locations and swirling until her normal amount of mana sinks into her body. The artificial boost that is part of Shard had stayed outside. After a few more minutes where I couldn't see what was going on She doesn't move but says, "Now." So I built up a large pulse of fear and sent it out. She flinches as the fear floods through but it -instantly- dies down. She concentrates a few more minutes before saying, "Again."
This repeats for the next two hours and every pulse I can feel her aura doing -something-. Finally she opens her eyes, still in her 'serious' mode. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, then releases it slowly and gradually her aura returns to normal. When she opens her eyes again she's back to normal.
She smiles to me "Alright I need another point of reference just to be sure, but that should do."
I look at her in confusion so she answers the unasked question in exasperation, "Shard helped me feel the difference between basic aura and aura infused with intent like those pulses. You told me how your Astral Shield worked and I already know aura is controlled through the mind. I just made use of it all."
I'm glaring now "You 'just made use of it all'. Just like that?"
She nods and smiles brightly, "Yep, try me." So I do. I send a pulse of fear and -instantly- her normal aura snaps inside of her until the wave passes. When it came back out it was -tinged- with fear but only barely and was quickly recovering. She nods and says "Keep hitting me with that at home so my mind will get practice blocking it."
I blink. I blink again. "How the hell...?" I shake my head "No, there's no way you could do that, how did you do that?" I knew my mom had a crazy talent for learning new things but this is kinda ridiculous.
She stares at me for a moment then sighs and shrugs seemingly to herself "It's something my father, your grandfather, taught me. Leave it at that for now, alright?"
I'm still giving her a -look-. "You'll tell me later?"
She nods, "Shard will show you what I did tonight. If you still want to know after that I'll tell you tomorrow." her face looks like an emotionless mask for a moment, then she comes back to herself and smiles, "Now, let's go save us some damsels in distress so I can find you a girlfriend!"
I groan "I am -not- looking for a girlfriend."
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The evening had gone fairly well though I had to explain the staff and pack to mom, then we had actually stumbled onto Arachne once - though that was partially because one of the tendrils of her aura had touched mom and she asked what it was since she couldn't see it. They got their introduction... Mom seriously stuck with Oblivimom - but it was to be expected. Taylor had still been doing some snooping so we left her to it, but I charged her talisman just in case. I also kept a couple of charged talismans with me now as something I could hand out or could act as a first line of defense. Mom had one of them.
So, we were going on our merry way racing around town in the sky, I had figured Murphy had forgotten my Saturday morning comment. I was wrong, though not in the way I was worried about. I saw Silver Armor Lad finishing up with a couple of thugs that had tried to break into an electronics shop. Mom disappeared. When I looked around I realized she disappeared because she was currently hugging Vista, Shard must be in control - she's talking a mile a minute. All I really caught was something about 'So cute!' and 'awesome, protected people' and lots of questions about what she likes. Such as flying. I don't know if that's my mother trying to set me up on a date with someone younger or if it's Shard just being Shard.
The down-side to this is Silver Armor Lad saw a flash of violet light then there was someone 'attacking' his partner. It -was- a decent test of the shield mom built up though. When SAL realized the blasts of emotion were barely doing anything and Vista wasn't screaming in pain or terror, just stunned, he calmed down. I figured I may as well introduce myself to him... again.
I float down and wave to SAL, "Sorry about Oblivimom, she... doesn't have much self control at times. Particularly around anything 'cute' or if hugs are involved."
SAL shrugs "Eh, Vista seems okay so I'm not too worried. Good job getting Grue the other day. Oh a warning, Glory Girl wants to talk to you about that, I think she wants to thank you."
I nod and give a slight sigh "Warning received, guess when I see her I'd better run for a while."
He's giving me a look. "Or you could just graciously accept a 'thank you'"
I shrug "Where's the fun in that? I hear things are much better if you have to work for them."
He tilts his head "I.... Don't think it works that way."
I smile (not that he can see it), "We'll find out won't we?"
At that he laughs and asks for a lift up to the roof so he can use a prybar to peel my mom off Vista, so we fly up to greet them. SAL didn't need the prybar. Seeing a new person Shard/mom detached from Vista and to SAL's horror attached to him. He turns to look at me and whimpers "Help?"
I walk over to Vista and shake my head then bow it, "He was a good man. It's really too bad you'll have to go back alone."
She giggles a little "You can't keep him, that one's ours." Then she turns to me "Are you really taking Shadow Stalker?"
I nod gravely "Yes, but there is a cost. I'm fairly certain Arachne is going to try to force her to wear a maid outfit to clean up crime."
Huh, Vista's one of those people that snorts when they laugh too hard. I look down at the two guys they captured to see their third guy, the lookout that had been missed sneaking up to release them. "Hey, you've called the police right?"
She nods, "Yeah, should be here in five or ten minutes, why?"
I shrug using the motion and a bit of mana infusion and careful series of boosts to undo the clasps on the leather strap on my back to swing my 'blasting rod' off my back in a twirl landing it in my hand. "No reason." in the same smooth motion I point it at the lookout and generate the near invisible lasers with just enough size and power to create an ionized channel that causes the electricity to instantly arc through the air to strike Mr. Lookout with a *crack* of energy and dropping him.
Vista and SAL are both looking at me surprised. SAL is a little busy so Vista is the one to ask "What was -that-!?"
I answer, "Blasting Rod."
She's eyeing it a little warily "Uh huh. Because that answers everything."
I nod, "Glad you understand. Hey Mom, time to go!" and I launch myself into the air. Well, Murphy didn't really screw me over with the robot, or in SAL's case robot suit, so that went well. Every day can't be filled with excitement after all.
Mom and I patrolled a little while longer, stopped a couple of minor happenings but didn't run into anything too bad.
Overall it was a good evening. We got to test my blasting rod, and mom got a chance to test her internal Astral Shield. I was a little worried about tonight though. If how mom had acted was anything to go by then how she managed it was not necessarily a good thing.